Opening Day at the Farmstand: Friday June 2nd!
As June rapidly approaches and our crops respond to the long warm days with exponential growth, the time has arrived when our selection of produce has reached critical mass and it is time to open our doors for the season. The farmstand in Concord will open for the season on Friday June 2nd at 11am. We will be returning to our usual early season hours of Tuesday – Saturday 11am-6pm, and Sundays 11am-5pm, and self-serve on the porch will be discontinued when the stand opens. We can’t wait to see your smiling faces for another year!
On your first visit to the farmstand, you may encounter asparagus (on its way out), strawberries (on their way in), and a growing roster of crops: lettuce, spinach, arugula, endive, escarole, chard, parsley, basil, cilantro, dill, dandelion, kale, rhubarb, cut flowers and radishes should be available (with limited quantities for some items) during the first week or two, to be quickly joined by garlic scapes, then squash and cucumbers, peas, and much more as the season progresses.
Hutchins Farm officially turned 50 years old this spring, and while in some ways that seems like a large milestone, in others it seems like just another year, with the ups and downs mother nature likes to throw our way. We were lucky not to have lost any tender crops during the recent freeze, though we had lots of vulnerable plants in the field. Row covers saved our earliest tomato and basil plantings, with the only casualties being a small percentage of our first corn planting that succumbed to the rare mid-May dip into the twenties. Some strawberry blooms were likewise killed (although they were under cover), but we still anticipate a good early crop. We did, however, experience a crop failure for some of our strawberry varieties (planted last year in the very dry weather, just at a moment when our irrigation went down), so the season will be shorter (and sweeter?) than usual. The effect of the cold on our apple and blueberry crops, either directly or through suppression of pollinator activity, remains to be seen—fingers are crossed!
Our new greenhouse is up and operational and has been a blessing during our recent cold snaps. Crops in general look good, with lots of stuff in the ground, and more plantings going in every week. Garden plants are still available for many vegetables and herbs, and we will continue to offer them for the next month or so. Rain has been in short supply, but our irrigation systems are robust and we’ve been able to keep newly planted crops alive and hydrated so far. Some of our famers markets have already started – Cambridge Central Square, and Somerville Union Square have been up and running for a couple of weeks. The Belmont Center Market will open for the season this Thursday.
In short, another year with new challenges, old challenges, and hopefully some luck, is upon us!
We hope to see you soon, at the farmstand or at one of our farmers market locations,
-Brian Cramer, Liza Bemis, and the rest of the Hutchins Farm Crew
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